


A Circle of Friendship Begins

by Sadbhyl



Series: Smith & Harkness [8]
Category: Sarah Jane Adventures, Sarah Jane Smith (Big Finish Audio), Torchwood
Genre: F/M, Gen, Jossed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-30
Updated: 2011-08-30
Packaged: 2017-10-23 06:38:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/247300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sadbhyl/pseuds/Sadbhyl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are other people besides Jack with information for Sarah Jane</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Circle of Friendship Begins

**Author's Note:**

> This series was originally written waaaay back when, starting in May of 2006, shortly after School Reunion aired and a few months before the premiere of Torchwood, when the Sarah Jane Adventures were barely an idea. Which explains some of the poor characterization in the early chapters, especially Ianto. I struggled with the idea of revising to fit canon, but decided to leave it as an archive. Everything's pretty much Jossed, but have fun with it anyway.

  
The lights were turned down when Sarah came into the commissary in search of something to eat. The reason was instantly clear when she noticed Gwen curled up on the sofa, apparently sound asleep. Sarah left the lights as they were and went to the fridge, rooting around among the leftovers for something that didn’t look to have an owner. She came up with a white cardboard container, Thai by the writing on the side. She dumped it into a bowl and put it in the microwave, wincing at each loud beep as she programmed it. The little blue numbers counted down methodically until Sarah quietly pulled the door open, stopping the clock at three seconds before the alarm could sound and disturb the sleeper.

“God, that smells gorgeous,” Gwen’s soft voice mumbled from the direction of the couch.  Sarah turned to see her shoving herself upright, her raven hair a disheveled mess that she tried half-heartedly to correct with her fingers before giving up. “What time is it?”

“Too late for lunch but too early for supper.” Sarah crossed the room and offered the bowl to Gwen.

“Oh, I couldn’t. That’s yours.”

“I think it’s left from the research session the other night, so technically it’s everyone’s.” Sarah pressed the food on the younger woman. “Go on. I’ll see what else there is.”

“Thanks.” Gwen had already started picking at the limp rice noodles as Sarah turned back to the fridge.

“Long night?”

“Aren’t they all?” Gwen sighed and slumped back on the sofa. “Doesn’t seem worth it sometimes.”

“That’s just the tired talking.” Sarah fished around in the fridge a little deeper and found a container of what looked like egg drop soup. A delicate sniff eased her worries of salmonella, so she put it in the microwave. “You lot are good at this,” she continued, turning to lean back against the counter.

“I wonder sometimes.” With a disinterested sigh, Gwen leaned forward and pushed her food onto the table, folding her hands in front of her as she stared at the rug. “Back when I started here…” She hesitated before looking up at Sarah again with a wry smile. “God, it seems so long ago. Back in the dark ages.” Pulling her knees up defensively, she tried again. “Back then, someone said something to me. About how this place, this world is just a dumping ground for all the garbage in the universe. Nothing good ever comes here. Not from out there, anyway. Maybe there isn’t anything good out there. Maybe this is all there is.”

“You’re just looking at it from the wrong perspective is all.” Abandoning the microwave altogether, Sarah pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and went to sit across from Gwen. “It’s the nature of your job, to see the darker stuff. But there are beautiful things out there, too. And some of them do come here. I’ve seen things so wonderful, so amazing, you wouldn’t dream it in a million years.” Memories danced across her vision, distracting her from her companion for a moment. When she recovered herself, she realized that Gwen was staring at her thoughtfully. “You just need to get out more,” Sarah added, covering her distraction.

“You sound just like Jack sometimes.”

Now there was an interesting comparison. Twisting the top off her bottle, she took a long drink, trying to read Gwen’s expression. There was nothing there that was sinister or threatening. She just looked puzzled and a bit amused. “What makes you say that?”

“Just the way you talk, like you know so much more than the rest of us.”

“Well, I am quite a bit older than you. I’m sure I’ve seen a lot of things you haven’t.”

Gwen shook her head. “No, this is more than that. You and Jack, you just seem to have more in common than the rest of us.”

“You might be right.” It might not be very wise, here with all the cameras and who knew what else, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Moving to the edge of her seat, Sarah leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Gwen, has Jack ever mentioned the Doctor?”

“The doctor? Which one?”

Gwen’s confusion was evident. If Jack did have a connection with the Doctor, he wasn’t sharing it with his colleagues. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“It’s just…”

Sarah’s breathing stopped.

“He did say to me once that he was looking for a doctor,” Gwen continued, uncertain as though revealing a confidence. “He didn’t say which one, and considering his condition, its not the sort of thing he can go to the Heath for.”

“Condition?”

This time Gwen did stop. “I’m sorry. I’ve said too much already.”

“No, I quite understand. It’s personal, you don’t want to violate his trust.”

“No, I don’t,” Gwen answered with a warning sort of emphasis. “Who is this doctor you’re asking after, anyway?”

“Just an old friend. I thought Jack might know him, but perhaps I’m wrong.”

Gwen smiled. “Well, you never can tell with him, can you?”

Sarah answered with a smile of her own.


End file.
